ISTANBUL -- Turkey sent two firefighting aircraft Saturday to help battle wildfires in neighboring Syria as Turkish firefighters battled a blaze on their side of the border and one person was reported dead in the country's west.

ANKARA (Reuters) -Firefighters in Turkey have contained six of nine wildfires tearing across western Izmir province, officials said on Friday, after the blazes killed two people and forced thousands to evacuate their homes earlier in the week.

A new wildfire in Greece prompted evacuations in coastal areas south of Athens, as firefighters in neighboring Turkey remained locked in a battle to contain flames tearing through forested hillsides.